The present invention relates to home canning devices, and, more particularly, is directed to a utensil used in canning of foods which severs the food to be canned into slices and then funnels the severed food slices into a canning jar.
In recent years, home preserving of foods has gained increased popularity. With rising food costs and a more keen awareness of the nutritutional value of food, more and more people are turning to growing their own fruits and vegetables and then preserving them by canning, freezing, drying, and the like as was the custom with their forefathers.
In the home canning operation, the food is placed into containers, such as glass canning jars, and then the jar of food is placed into a pressure cooker or cold packer for a given amount of time so as to seal the lid and preserve the food for storage. Many foods, especially fruits and vegetables are processed in this well known manner. Often-times it is desirable that the food be cut into smaller pieces or slices before it is placed into a canning jar, for instance, peaches are often sliced and the same can be said for red beets.
Customarily, the home canner uses a common paring knife for cutting up these foods; however, there are many different types of food slicers, choppers and dicers on the market which have been designed to perform a specific function on a given food. An example of one such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 48,149 which is directed to a machine for coring, slicing and stringing apples. More specifically, this machine includes a base plate that supports a cutter assembly and a fulcrum lever mechanism which is positioned above the cutter assembly. An apple is set on the cutter assembly, and as the lever is moved in a downward direction, the apple is forced through the cutter blades which slices the apple as well as coring the same. A somewhat similar machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,824,588 which is directed to a device for slicing melons. The melon is placed in a holding bowl or craddle wherein a multi-blade knife assembly is brought down over the melon and passed therethrough to cut the melon into several evenly and uniformily divided slices.
U.S. Pat. No. 205,223 shows another type of vegetable cutter wherein the vegetables to be cut are placed into a hopper which has a cutter assembly supported in the bottom thereof. A follower, interconnected to a handle by a series of gears, is placed on the top of the vegetables, and thus, as the handle is turned, the follower is screwed down against the vegetables, feeding the vegetables down through the cutter assembly.
The Starr patent (U.S. Pat. No. 1,097,479) shows yet another type of vegetable cutter. Shown is a frame which is adapted to be positioned across the upper end of a tub, bucket or other receptacle and across which is stretched a thin metallic ribbon which operates as a knife for cutting the vegetables as they are forced downwardly and across the ribbon. This device is commonly known as a cabbage slaw cutter. A similar such device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,112,991.
Yet another prior art cutting device is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 1,746,979. The disclosed device includes a cup-shaped member 10 provided with a belled mouth 11 and a cutter assembly positioned adjacent the bottom of member 10. Beneath the cutter assembly, a receptacle 31 is disposed to receive the cut product as same is forced down through the cutter assembly by a pressing plug 10'.
Still another vegetable cutter device of more recent vintage is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,242,607. The object of this invention was to provide a device wherein whole cooked vegetables could be cut into strips and cooked sliced vegetables could be cut into cubes without removing the same from the cooking utensil wherein they have been cooked, the cutting being done by pressing through the vegetables a crosswork of fine but strong wires which are tightly strung upon a rigid frame.
Another utensil quite commonly used in the home canning operation is a canning funnel such as the one shown in the Revised Edition of the Freezing & Canning Cookbook put out by Farm Journal (Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-91947). Such canning funnels are used with both the wide mouth and small neck variety of canning jars and functions not only in assisting the filling of the jars with the food products but also facilitates the pouring of liquids, such as, syrups into the jars.
Besides the canning funnel, there are other types of funnels on the market such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,331,068. The disclosed device is a combination utensil which functions as a funnel as well as a strainer. This combination utensil was specifically designed for filling nursing bottles and basically includes a funneling structure with a strainer supported within a tubular neck which is secured to the lower portion of the structure and which defines the lower opening.
All of the above-described prior art cutting devices serve the specific intended purpose for which they were designed, some of these devices being more complicated and more costly than others. In addition, the prior art canning funnel adequately serves its intended purpose. Thus, it can be generally stated that, up to now, the food cutting devices have been directed solely to that function, whereas, the canning funnel has been directed to its intended function, separate from the function of the food cutting devices.